Rivers Edge - A New Minnesota Festival

California-based concert promoter Live Nation announced an agreement with the city of St. Paul on Thursday that calls for the company to produce a multi-day festival on Harriet Island each summer for the next five years.

The idea is to create a destination event similar to Lollapalooza, which has taken place each summer since 2005 in Chicago's Grant Park, or Tennessee's Bonnaroo Music Festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in June.

This is huge for the city of St. Paul, which in the past has often played second fiddle to Minneapolis. Harriet Island is not technically an island but is a city park immediately across the river from DT St. Paul and is a beautiful location. There is an actual island (Navy Island) included in the park, which will be a great spot for a separate stage.

Last edited by Stickjohn; 04-10-2012 at 08:06 AM.
Reason: added name to title

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Are the people in St Paul less douchy than the people in Chicago? My immediate reaction to any festival within a city limit is that there will probably be too many looky-loo douches to make it tolerable.

Originally Posted by RandyInHeaven

Devin - how does it feel to know that there are still more women in the world that would fuck me at this very moment than would fuck you?

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Originally Posted by captncrzy

Are the people in St Paul less douchy than the people in Chicago? My immediate reaction to any festival within a city limit is that there will probably be too many looky-loo douches to make it tolerable.

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Eventhough they're considering a country format, i'd doubt they'd go that route. Minnesota has a big country fest already (like almost as big as stagecoach) called Wefest.

What I am wondering, since Live Nation is hyping Bamboozle. Is if it might unfortunately be something similar to that (Bon Jovi). Also, that might coincide with the very popular Rock the Garden concert that's usually held the 3rd weekend in June in Minneapolis.

But a lot of people from the Twin Cities make the commute to Chicago for Lolla, Pitchfork, North Coast, etc. So if the lineups are similar, it should coax some people to stay home.

If y'all fresh to death, then I'm deceased... -Kanye West
Jamiroquai 2017 please.

Originally Posted by miscorrections

How is any of that ironic? On this board I absolutely expect terrible people to call other people terrible.

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Originally Posted by captncrzy

Are the people in St Paul less douchy than the people in Chicago? My immediate reaction to any festival within a city limit is that there will probably be too many looky-loo douches to make it tolerable.

It's worse, tons of hipsters that think they're funny constantly giving commentary. This is going to kill what little potential Soundtown had. Also as much as I love Harriet Island, this will be a clusterfuck and a half.

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Originally Posted by stinkbutt

It's worse, tons of hipsters that think they're funny constantly giving commentary. This is going to kill what little potential Soundtown had. Also as much as I love Harriet Island, this will be a clusterfuck and a half.

I think Soundtown will be one of the Somerset fests mentioned.

We can be bad, but I remember while trying to watch Radiohead at Lolla 08 all the people having conversations around me not giving a fuck that Radiohead was playing. I was kinda annoyed by that. We really that bad ourselves Mr Stink?

If y'all fresh to death, then I'm deceased... -Kanye West
Jamiroquai 2017 please.

Originally Posted by miscorrections

How is any of that ironic? On this board I absolutely expect terrible people to call other people terrible.

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Concert news: Harriet Island music festival will have Dave Matthews Band and Tool

The Dave Matthews Band and Tool will headline River's Edge Music Festival, the new outdoor music festival planned June 23 and 24 on Harriet Island in downtown St. Paul.

Two-day tickets are $99 through April 20 and will go on sale at at 10 a.m. April 13 through Ticketmaster. Representatives from the City of St. Paul and concert promoters Live Nation revealed the details in an afternoon press conference Thursday, April 5, after nearly four months of silence that followed the announcement of the festival itself.

Live Nation is aiming for a crowd in the 40,000 to 50,000 range for the festival, which is meant to become an annual event. The festival will feature more than 30 acts in addition to the headliners, including the Flaming Lips, Brand New, Polica, Motion City Soundtrack, Puscifer, Coheed & Cambria, Diplo, Scissor Sisters, Datsik, MuteMath, Delta Spirit, Blaqstarr, Kinky, Mexican Institute of Sound, Civil Twilight and Quietdrive.

The headliners both emerged in the '90s and have since become major players in the industry.

Singer/guitarist/South Africa native Dave Matthews formed his band in Virginia more than 20 years ago, when he was just another bartender with big dreams. He hand-picked players from the local jazz scene and, by 1993, had amassed a strong regional following. That led to a major-label deal and a series of hit singles, including "What Would You Say," "Crash into Me," "Crush" and "The Space Between."

But the group's biggest success has come on the road, where their improv-heavy shows are now a coming-of-age tradition. The Dave Matthews Band sold more concert tickets than any other musical act from 2000 to 2009, some 11 million total for a gross of more than a half-billion dollars. Given the band's wide appeal, they tend to play more festivals and outdoor amphitheaters than indoor arenas. That said, they drew more than 17,000 to the Xcel Energy Center in September 2010 and a similar number to the Target Center in November 2005.

Los Angeles art-metal act Tool are a much more enigmatic group, preferring to promote themselves through complex songs and inventive concert staging rather than more traditional, personality-based methods. Vocalist Maynard James Keenan has only started to make substantial public appearances in recent years, surprising fans by starring in 2010's "Blood Into Wine," a documentary about his side business in winemaking. During Tool concerts, Keenan still tends to spend most of the show singing from the back of the stage, hiding in darkness rather than hogging the spotlight.

In 20 years, Tool has issued just four studio albums, which have sold more than 10 million copies combined. The band's most recent local tour stop attracted about 13,000 fans to the Xcel Energy Center in July 2010, despite the fact Tool's last new music to date was released back in 2006.

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

3h for 99 bucks for me.... Very much worth it, just to see Tool. I wonder if Puscifer will be on the same day as Tool...and if there will be single day tickets. Datsik/Diplo? Is there gonna be a electronic tent or more names or something?

Re: A New Minnesota Festival Without A Name Let's Call It Harriet

Representatives of Live Nation -- the Los Angeles-based global behemoth -- also revealed plans for an even more ambitious River's Edge next year featuring a second weekend of country music, a third day of rock, plus an electronic dance offshoot. The company signed a five-year minimum contract with the city to produce the festivals.